Legging



. 1,619,472 Mafch 1 1927' c. R. HOLCOMB f LEGGING Filed Obi. 19, 1925Patented Mar. 1, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,619,472 PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. HOLCOMB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HOLCOMB SAFETYGAR- MENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LEGGING.

Application filed October 19, 1925. Serial No. 63,338.

This invention relates to leggings and relates particularly to leggingsof the general type which forms the subject matter of U. S. LettersPatent No. 1.220.806, dated Mar. 27.

1917, issued to Fred H. Wheeler and myself as joint inventors andpatentees.

Leggings of the general type to which my present invention relates aredesigned primarily for protecting the legs and feet of molders andothers working in and around foundries and elsewhere where molten metalis handled.

As is generally well known, persons who work around cupolas, blastfurnaces and in foundries, and particularly those engaged in handlingmolten metal, are exposed to serious injury from burns caused by moltenmetal spilled or thrown upon them, partlcularly on the lower portions oftheir legs and feet, it being a common experlence that, without adequateprotection, molten metal when spilled will fall on their legs and willsometimes run into their shoes, producing very serious burns andinjuries.

Many different kinds of leggings have been devised to protect workmenfrom injury by molten metal and the object of the present invention isto provide certain specific improvements in thelegging which forms thesubject matter of said prior Patent No. 1,220,806, with a view to betterprotect the wearer from injury by the causes specified. v

A particular feature of said prior Patent No. 1,220,806, consists of'aflap attached to one edge of the legging which is adapt ed to fold underand overlap the opposite edge of the legging when adjusted tothe leg ofa wearer. Heretotore this flap has 40 been unsupported excepting by itsattachment tothe leg proper and it is found in practice that it has atendency to sag and wrinkle and thus defeat the purpose for which it isintended.

One object of the invention is to prevent sagging and wrinkling of saidflap when adjusted for use, and in accordance with my present invention,I attain this object by means of a supporting stay secured to and whichextends transversely of said flap,

preferably at its'lower edge, said supporting stay consisting preferablyof a piece of fiat spring steel curved to conform substantially to thecurvature of the leg.

The legging of said prior Patent No.

1,220,806 was also objectionable in the respect that it was constructedso that the lower edge of the legging proper termi-' nated somewhatabove the top of the counter of the shoe worn by the user of thelegging, thus permitting access of molten metal to the shoe of thewearer abovethe counter, burning away the leather and permitting moltenmetal to run into the boot or shoe worn by the user wit-h attendantserious injury to him.

Another object of the invention is to prolower edge of the legging willextend a de-v sired distance below the ankle of the wearer, said leggingalso comprising longitudinal reenforcing stays secured to the cover p01tion of the legging and comprising stays at its rear edges and. lateralsides which extend to the lower edges of said legging.

My invention also comprises the various other features, combinations offeatures and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.7

Inthe accompanying drawings, in which my invention is fully illustrated,

Figure 1 is a front view of a legging embodying my invention andimprovements.

Figure 2 is a side view thereof.

Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof; and

Figure 4 is a View of the legging developed, showing the inner sidethereof.

Describing the invention with particular reference to the drawings, myimproved legging,- designated as a whole A, comprises a leg coveringportion made of suitable flexible fire-resisting material, such asasbestos cloth or fireproofed duck or leather, said leg covering portionbeing proportionedto form a main section, designated a, which forms theleg covering proper, and a flap a securedto one lateral edge of saidmain portion a and which, when adjusted to the leg of a wearer, isadapted to overlap and to be inserted beneath the edge of said mainsection other than that to which said flap is attached. As shown, themain and flap portions of said legging are formed integral with eachother, within the contemplation and scope of my invention, but mayequally well consist of separate pieces of material sewed or otherwisesecured together.

Attached to the main leg covering portion a of the legging arestiffening stays, preferably made ofband spring steel, secured to theleg covering portion of the leg ing by suitable means, as rivets.

As shown, there are five of said spring stays comprising stays 1 and 2at the rear edges of the main leg covering portion a of thelegging, afront stay 3 and side stays 4t and 5 intermediate said front and rearstays.

As shown, also, the legging is adapted to be attached to the leg of awearer by upper and lower spring clips 6 and 7, said clips beingpreferably substantially circular in shape and being riveted orotherwise secured tothe supporting stays 1, '2. 4- and the upper clip 6being secured to the upper ends of-saidsupporting stays and the lowerclip 7 to said supporting stays at a considerable distance above theirlower edges, leaving portions 8 of "the rear and side supporting staysdepending below said lower clip.

Atits front side, the main leg covering portion a of the legging is cutout on a curved line as shown at 9 to lit over the in step ot thewearer, said cut-out portion being so proportioned-that when the leggingis adjusted to the leg of the wearer, its lower edge will overlap thecounter of a shoe, boot or the like worn by him.

The lower attaching clip 7 ispositioned above the highest point of thecut-out portion and the front stiffening stay '3 is proportioned toterminate substantially even with its loweredge. a

Preferably, also, a legging en'ibodying my present invention comprises avamp portion 10, adapted to extend over and cover the instep and topportion of the shoe, if desired, the edges of thecut-out portion 9 ofthe main leg covering portion a. Said vamp portion 1 10 may be made ofthe same material as the main leg covering portion a, or any othersuitable fire-resisting material.

To effect the object of the invention as it relates to holding the flapa flat and in ad ,justed position, a transverse siuoporting stay 11 isattached to said flap, one point of attachment of said stay beingclosely adjacent to the line of attachment to said flap to the main legcovering portion a of the legging. As shown, said stiffening stayconsists of a strip of band steel riveted to the lower edge ing staysmade of other material and at tached to said flap aboveits lower edge.

Also, I donot desire to limit myself as it).

the material of which the supporting stays 3,

4- and 5 aremade, as any suitable material,

as for example fibre board or stiff leather may be substituted withequally good results.

I claim 1. A legging comprising a portion of flexible materialproportioned to form a flap at one lateral edge thereof, longitudinalstay members secured to said leg covering portion, comprising staymembers at the lateral edges of the leg covering :portion proper, meansfor securing said legging to a leg, and one or more supporting stays.

applied to the flap portion of saidlegging. 2. A legging as specified inclaim 1, in which the stiffening stay for the flap is applied to itslower edge, and is curved.

A legging as specified in claim 1, in which the flap stay securing meanscomprises a point of attachment positioned closely adjacent to the lineof attachment oft-he flap to the main leg covering portion of the leggmg. a

4QA legging comprising a leg covering portion of flexible protectivematerial provided with a cut out at the lower edge of its front portionadapted to fit overthe instep of the user and so proportioned that whenthe legging is adjusted foriise the rear portion of its lower edge willoverlap the counter of a shoe worn bythe user, :stays secured to the legcoveringportion of the logging, comprising I spaced transverse staysmade -.of resilient material and shaped to encircle the leg ofthe user,the bottom one of which is positioned closely adj acent to the top ofsaid cutout, and longitudinal stays comprising a front stay whichterminates at the lower transverse stay, and side and back stays whichextend substantially to the lower-edge of the legging. i In witness thatI claim the foregoing as my invention, I have hereunto afiixe'd mysignature this 13 day ofOctober, 1925.

CHARLES R. HOLCOMB;

leg covering-

